Christmas Sugar Cookies in 5 Steps

I have the fun job over here at ParentSavvy of being the amateur foodie and general lover of Christmas time. So what's any Christmastime-foodie, working for ParentSavvy to do but decorate sugar cookies with a few wonderful kids.

I'm sure many of you know this process better than me but for those of you who didn't grow up with this tradition here are 5 steps for starting your own sugar cookie decorating tradition. As you read below, don't expect beautifully perfect cookies. They're real cookies made by real kids and moms using an over abundance of frosting and sprinkles. Traditions don't have to be perfect just real. And maybe a little messy...

The recipe I used is below. I like to know what's in my food, and bonus, I get to eat the dough. Just to make sure it's safe for other's consumption, of course.

2. Assemble the Decorating Supplies

Make sure you have frosting. It's the icing on the cookie after all. You can make it from scratch and color with food coloring or you can purchase pre-made colored frosting in squeeze tubes that would be great for younger kids. (Again I made it from scratch… so I could make sure it's safe of course… the recipe is below.)

Other good supplies to have are colored sugars, Christmas sprinkles, red hots, licorice ropes, M&Ms, etc... use your imagination. You really can't go wrong. Unless you use pickles; I don't recommend pickles.

3. Find Some Kids

Yes, moms and dads, it might be more fun and prettier on your own, but how can you take away that sugary happiness from your kids and their friends. A diet of sugar cookies everyday probably isn't recommended by our ParentSavvy experts, but Christmas is a special time once a year.

4. Decorate!

I went over to blogger Mollie's house to decorate with her boys and friends. The supplies were laid out, and they went to town. I couldn't wait to see the crazy concoctions these first graders would come up with.

They all chose the gingerbread men shaped cookies to start. They dolloped on the icing and dumped on the sprinkles. The boys gave the cookie men green arms and red legs. The tummies were decorated with Christmas cheer in the form of colored sugar.

5. Eat!

The boys stood back and admired their finished product. Then took a deep bite out of the arm. And gobbled up the rest. Poor gingerbread man didn't stand a chance. He was just too delicious.

They each decorated one or two more and ate one or two more and then Legos became more entertaining.

The moms finished decorating the rest of the cookies. Not quite as many globs of frosting on ours but still tasty.

You probably wouldn't see these cookies on the front of any food magazine, but we enjoyed this sweet family tradition.

Sugar Cookie Recipe

Some sugar cookie recipes contain sour cream or cream of tartar. I chose to use a simple sugar cookie recipe from JoyofBaking.com.

Carolyn is an editor and promotions manager for ParentSavvy. She has enjoyed seeing the site grow from its infancy to its toddler stage. (And, yes, there have been growing pains in the whole process.) Carolyn was born and raised in Omaha and is thankful that such a unique site calls Omaha home.
When not editing content, Carolyn can be found with her family and friends scouring local neighborhoods for untasted restaurants or exploring new stories at the movie theater. ...